Centrifugal machine.



C. R. REYNOLDS.

GENTRIPUGAL MACHINE.

APPLIOATION--PILED JULY 1. 1909.

Patented Mar. 28, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. R. REYNOLDS.

GENTBIFUGAL MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 1, 1909.

Patented Mar. 28, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

VIII/1:)? Ill/I V 1n: cums PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, n. c

O.R.RBYNOLDS.-

OENTRIFUGAL MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED J:ULY1, 1 909. 987,745.

3 SHEETS-SEEBT 3.

Patented Mar. 28, 1911.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOYOOO O O O O OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O O O OO O0 O0 00 OO OOOOOQOOOOOOOOOOO 00000.0 00000000000000000o OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

OOOOOOO Ti da NORRIS PETERS col. wnsnmcmlv. 04 c4 FTQE.

CHARLES R. REYNOLDS, OF SOUTH FRAMINGHAIVI, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO FIBRE PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 1, 1909.

Patented Mar. 28, 1911. Serial No. 505,333.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. Rnrnorns, of South F ramingham, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a machine for expressing moisture from plastic stock by the combined action of centrifugal force and positive compression. It is adapted particularly to the manufacture of what is commercially known as leather board but may obviously be employed for other purposes.

The invention resides in certain special features of construction and combinations of parts all of which will be fully set forth hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference will be had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate as an example one manner in which the principles of my invention may be practically embodied and in which drawings,

Figure 1 is a cross-section of the machine; Fig. 2 is an axial cross-section; Fig. 3 an enlarged plan view of a section of the inner wall; Fig. 4 is a side edge view thereof; and Fig. 5 a cross-section of the same.

The machine comprises a main shaft 10 which is adapted to be rotatably sustained in suitable bearings (not shown). On this shaft are mounted inner and outer drums which will be hereinafter described in detail and between the peripheries of which the stock is placed to be subjected to treatment substantially in the manner set forth in my copending application, Serial Number 403178, filed November 21, 1907. The outer drum is carried on hubs 11 loose on the shaft 10 and provided with spokes 14 carrying annular bands or rings 15 set in planes at right angles to the shaft. The rings 15 at their peripheries are flanged and engaged by a reticulated metal sheet 17 forming the peripheral wall of the outer drum and fastened by straps 18. For further strengthening this wall 17, I employ a strap 19 at the mid l dle of the drum, all of these straps 18 and 19 encircling the wall as hoops in the man-- ner shown in the drawings.

20 indicates a door in the outer wall 17 provided at its edges with ears 21 adapted to be removably engaged with locking pins 22 also engaging in ears 23 on the wall 17. By this arrangement either of the pins 22 may be withdrawn, the other serving as a hinge pintle and the door thus opened in either direction.

The inner drum is carried on hubs 24 which are loose on the shaft 10 and provided with spokes 25 fastened to rings 26. These rings lie inside of the rings 15 and parallel thereto, but are spaced from such rings and from the wall 17 sufliciently to give clearance to these parts. In said rings 26 are formed slots 27 which at 27% directly opposite the door 20, are radial and shortest and on each side of this point, the slots increase in length and obliquity progressively toward the door 20, the slots at 27 at said door, being the longest and most oblique or in other words nearly tangential to the periphery of the drum. These slots are uniform in each ring 26 and each pair of slots carries loosely the ends of rods 28 which form the pintles of hinges 29 between the sections 30 of the peripheral wall of the in nor drum. This wall is formed of reticulated sheet metal and is guided by the rods 28 and slots 27 so that it may expand against the wall 17, its ends moving apart from each other at the door 20, without, however, increasing the length of the inner wall 30 and therefore without subjecting the stock to any tensile strain. This is an important feature of my invention as will fully appear hereinafter. To secure the two parts of the inner drum rigidly together and prevent relative motion of the rings 26, X-braces 31 are fastened to the spokes 25 and extend across from one side to the other. (See Fig. 1).

Keyed to the shaft 10 directly inward of the hubs 24 are eccentric or cranked plates 32. These members or plates 32 are con nected by a sleeve 32 and rods 33 and to these rods are pivoted links 34. Said links 34 are tangentially disposed and are articulated at their outer ends to the rods 28, these links and the braces 31 being arranged with respect to each other so that there will be no interference between them during the necessary movements of the links in following the movements of the inner wall 30. Upon rotation of the shaft 10 in the direction of the arrow 6; in Fig. 1 the inner drum will,

through the links 34, be caused to rotate also and the tangentially disposed links acting on said wall will cause it to expand or open out, so to speak, moving the wall 30 toward the wall 17, under the positive control, however, of the slots 27. In this manner the stock is compressed against the outer wall 17 and the outer drum is thus caused to take up the rotation of the inner parts.

The shaft 10 is formed in one end with a longitudinal passage 35 and between the crank-like members 39., the shaft has numerous perforations 86 opening into the inner drum.

87 indicates a tank or liquid receptacle from which leads a pipe 88 to a water joint 39 which communicates with the passage 35 in the end of the shaft 10. This water joint 39 may be of any of the usual sort employed between two relatively rotating water carrying parts. In this manner water or any other liquid may be introduced into the interior of the inner drum and forced by centrifugal action through the stock assisted by and without interfering with the operation of the machine.

In the operation of the machine the shaft 10 is rotated reversely to the arrow in Fig. 1 and the wall 30 of the inner drum caused to contract or move in ard from the position shown in Fig. 1. This affords a space between the walls 30 and 17 to admit of the introduction of the stock. As is fully set forth in my copending application hereinbefore mentioned, the wet plastic stock is introduced into the machine inclosed in a pervious envelop. One end of this envelop is engaged with one end of the wall 30 and the shaft 10 further rotated contrary to the arrow (6 in Fig. 1, the inner drum turi'iing with-the shaft and the outer drum being held against rotation. This rotating motion of the inner drum is continued until the envelop is completely entered into the ma chine the length of the envelop being equal to that of the wall 30. When this has been accomplished, the door 20 is closed and the regular operation of the machine follows by rapid rotation of the shaft 10 in the direction indicated by the arrow a in Fig. 1. This returns the wall 30 to the position indicated in Fig. 1 and both of the drums with the stock rotate as a unit. The stock is subj ected to centrifugal action which causes the water to be exuded through the perforate outer wall 17. This action is increased by the mechanical pressure of the wall 30 against the stock due to centrifugal force and to the action of the links 34: which continually transmit the energy of the rotating passage 35 of the shaft 10 and to pass outthrough the openings 36. This liquid is then thrown by centrifugal force against the stock and forced through the same and through the walls 30 and 17. Upon completion of the operation, the stock is removed from the machine by a reversal of the abovedescribed operation.

In connection with this machine it will be seen that the inner wall 30 opens out in the same manner that a resilient sheet would spring open if rolled into a cylinder and then released and that this operation takes place without elongation of the wall and hence without subjecting the stock or the envelop containing it to any tensile strain whate\"er. On the contrary, the strain is one of compression purely and is, therefore, best adapted to the removal of moisture and the retention of the form and strength of the stock. It is further to be pointed out that owing to the form and location of the slots 27 and the arrangement of the elements 32 and 3st in combination with the wall 30 and said slots, the uniform and certain action of such wall in expansion and contraction is insured, since movement of one of the rods in its slots is necessarily followed by movement of all of the other rods in the slots related to them.

The foregoing description and drawingsaccompanying the same set fort-l1 as an example the specific form of one of the various possible embodiments of the invention, and What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A centrifugal machine having walls forming an arc-shaped chamber to receive the stock and means for causing one of said walls to move toward and from the other with a combined radial and tangential mo tion thereby exerting a non-tensile compressive strain on the stock.

2. A centrifugal machine having walls forming a circular chamber to receive the stock. one of such walls being divided longitudinally of the axis of the machine and means for causing said wall to move toward and from the other wall with a combined ra dial and tangential motion, thereby exerting a non-tensile compressive strain 011 the stock.

3. A centrifugal machine having walls forming a circular chamber to receive the stock, one of such walls being divided longitudinally of the axis of the machine and means for causing the part of said wall opposite the division point to move radially and the end portions of said wall to move radially and tangentially toward and from the other wall.

4. A centrifugal machine having walls forming an arc-shaped chamber to receive the stock, one wall of such chamber being adapted. to move toward-and from the other with a combined radial and tangential motion thereby exerting a non-tensile compressive strain on the stock.

5. A centrifugal machine having walls forming an annular chamber to receive the stock, one of said walls being adapted to move toward and from the other wall and said movable wall being divided longitudinally of the axis of the machine, the wall being non-extensible between its divided ends.

6. A centrifugal machine having walls forming an annular chamber to receive the stock, one of said walls being adapted to move toward and from the other wall and said movable wall being divided longitudinally of the axis of the machine, the wall being non-extensible between its divided ends, and means for causing the part of said wall opposite the division point to move radially and the end portions of said wall to move radially and tangentially.

7. A centrifugal machine having walls forming an arc-shaped chamber to receive the stock one wall of such chamber being non-extensible and adapted to move toward and from the other with a combined radial and tangential motion thereby exerting a non-tensile compressive strain on the stock.

8. A centrifugal machine having walls forming a circular chamber to receive the stock one of such walls being non-extensible and divided longitudinally of the axis of the machine and means for causing the part of said wall opposite the division point to move radially and the end portions of said wall to move radially and tangentially toward and from the other wall.

9. A centrifugal machine having walls forming an arc-shaped chamber to receive the stock and means for causing one of said walls'to move toward and from the other with a combined radial and tangential motion, such wall being non-extensible, thereby exerting a non-tensile compressive strain on the stock.

10. A centrifugal machine having inner and outer drums, the peripheral walls of which form between them an annular chamber for the reception of the stock the peripheral wall of the inner drum being nonextensible and divided longitudinally of the axis of the machine and having parts guided in slots in the side walls of the inner drum.

11. A centrifugal machine having inner and outer drums, the peripheral walls of which form between them an annular chamber for the reception of the stock, the peripheral wall of the inner drum being nonextensible and divided longitudinally of the axis of the machine and having parts guided in slots in the side walls of the inner drum, such slots being radial at the point opposite the division point and radial and tangential in progressively increasing degree from said point opposite the division point to the division point.

12. A centrifugal machine having walls forming a circular chamber to receive the stock, one of such walls being divided lon gitudinally of the axis of the machine and means for causing the part of said wall opposite the division point to move radially and the end portions of said wall to move radially and tangentially toward and from the other wall, the tangential motion of said end portions increasing progressively from said point opposite the division point to the division point.

13. A centrifugal machine having inner and outer drums, the outer peripheries of which form between them an annular chamber for the reception of the stock, the peripheral wall of the inner drum being divided longitudinally of the axis of the machine and such wall being formed of segments or sections united by a non-extensible hinge the pintle rods of which are guided in slots in the side walls of the inner drum, an axial shaft on which the drums are loosely mounted and links disposed tangentially and articulated to the said shaft and pintle rods.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES R. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses EUGENE A. CLARK, GRACE M. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, I). G. 

